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Fostering security, stability, and democracy in neighboring Mexico is seen by analysts to be in the U.S. national security and economic interest. Reforming Mexico’s often corrupt and inefficient criminal justice system is widely regarded as crucial for combating criminality, strengthening the rule of law, and better protecting citizen security and human rights in the country. Congress has provided significant support to help Mexico reform its justice system, with a focus on implementing judicial reforms enacted through constitutional changes in June 2008, which aim to replace the traditional closed-door process with an adversarial public trial system. As of December 2012, 22 of Mexico’s 32 states had enacted new criminal procedure codes, but only 12 states had begun operating under the new system, with reform states seeing positive initial results, including faster case resolution times and tougher sentences. The United States has been supporting judicial reform efforts in Mexico since the late 1990s, with assistance accelerating since the implementation of the Mérida Initiative in FY2008, which has provided $1.9 billion in funding, with a focus on providing training and technical assistance to help reform Mexico’s justice sector institutions.